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The Forum > Article Comments > Small town life-styles > Comments

Small town life-styles : Comments

By Lyn Allison, published 28/9/2006

Decentralisation is the only possible long-term solution to the sprawling problems of Sydney and Melbourne.

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At one time, a lot more of Australia was settled. But they had established their farms and communities in better times. When the normal cycle of low rainfall returned, farms and towns were abandoned.

From reading this thread I'd venture that few people have lived in the country. Could I say and hopefully without offending anyone, that it is a useful exercise to list what you yourself would require to move to a country or regional town. Not for a short holiday, but for life.

It is easy to say that others should take the leap to the bush when one in living comfortably in a city with employment for oneself and for the children if and when they come along.

Rather than recommend new regional centres, what about looking at why the present regional towns are collapsing? Because in many country towns the WW2 widows are about all that remain. Some towns are propped up only by grey nomads buying fuel and afternoon tea.

To test the mettle of Canberra politicians and bureaucrats, what about locating some federal departments in regional areas? There is NO reason whatsoever why (say) Centrelink, the Health Insurance Commission or others really NEED to be in Canberra. What about the Department of Veterans' Affairs? Its clients in Canberrra are actually serrviced by the NSW office notwisthstanding the fact that its Canberra administration is LARGER than its NSW office which does service clients.

Centralisation suits senior bureaucratic gnomes (State or Federal) and the major political parties and it is a contributing cause to the death of regional towns and cities.
Posted by Cornflower, Tuesday, 3 October 2006 3:28:49 PM
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Wait for global warming! Depopulating the coasts will no longer be a problem.

But what will they flee to?
Under resourced and debilitated rural towns.
fluff
Posted by fluff4, Wednesday, 4 October 2006 10:00:37 AM
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Lyn,
It is timely of you to take another look at decentralisation in the light of Twenty First Century imperatives: Landcare, livlihood and the well-being of the community.
Intentional Communities, with guidance from relevant Authorities together with incentives from relevant Institutions, merits our consideration; and our imagination, as a way of putting Life back into the country.
People having, or acquiring, skills appropriate to the needs and potential of the region, can come together with cooperative advantages.
Posted by gulliver, Thursday, 5 October 2006 2:12:18 AM
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Having waded through some 50 odd contributions, my offering is to suggest a radical experiment. The NSW Government is proposing to locate some 250 000 Sydney bound 'residents' to the Lower Hunter over the next 25 years.
An eccentric developer has amassed some 2000 ha of wine country land adjacent to a yet-to-be realised freeway (f3)and has bedazzled Planning Minister Frank Sartor to the extent that he has given a conditional approval for much less than the 50 000 'residents' proposed.
My suggestion is that Sartor offer the developer a 'deal' relocating his 2000 ha some 20 km west - lower rainfall but still within 70km of coast - onto a soon-to-be vacant(2015) open cut coalmine site. This is currently serviced by a rail spur which could be 'looped' back to western Sydney (140km away). A little imagination is needed.
Mine voids (holes) with suitable lining would provide a water source as well as recreation, microclimate effects.
Living styles would have to be architecturally unique along the lines of that attempted in Eden a disused Cornish UK mine site. But in terms of climate change this would be no ordinary outer Sydney suburb of McMansions.
'Residents' would be using alternative power sources, particularly existing methane. Some government inspired incentives to counter the property values argument would also be helpful.
Should it prove attractive and feasible, there are another 19 open cut mine sites that will be clamouring to come aboard, the first of them in 2012. A 'synoptic plan' put out by the Dept of Mineral Resources has been trying to figure out some future for these huge holes in the ground. Despite regular updates, they are going nowhere. A radical re-think, like an experimental new city may be what is required. Any takers?
Posted by jup, Thursday, 5 October 2006 2:47:36 PM
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"It would seem, your local area is quite self-sufficient, with its natural resource – sadly it’s not the norm for many if not most rural areas."

Not the norm? Rural Australia generates about half of national export revenue, despite having only around one-third of Australia’s population. In terms of export wealth generation, the average country person is more productive than their city counterpart. Maybe if Australia still had a manufacturing sector worth a damn, our cities might actually contribute their fair share to national export earnings. However, the reality is that there is a significant disparity between what regional Australia contributes to national GDP and what it actually receives in return in terms of Federal and State investment. In my opinion, it's a real pity that Australia no longers has a party that represents non-metropolitan voters, especially as the Nationals are nothing more than sycophantic cheerleaders for the Liberals. Otherwise, it's likely the issue of decentralisation would be on the national agenda.
Posted by Dresdener, Saturday, 7 October 2006 12:49:30 AM
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“Rural Australia generates about half of national export revenue, despite having only around one-third of Australia’s population.” – Quite true. However, these statistics don’t reveal the majority of export earnings are made through mining and energy.” Farm-sector export earnings are at A$28.3 billion in 2006/07… export earnings from minerals and energy in 2006/2007 (July to June) will rise to around A$108 billion” (ABARE). The mineral resources boom is currently propping up most of Australia, with China basically underpinning it

Mining towns, as important as they are, do not represent a fair and equitable cross section of rural Australia.

Living in rural S.A. I see the relationship between town and country as one of co-dependence - the raw produce/material by one is equally supported by the technology and infrastructure supplied by the other. The ‘guts’ is being virtually ripped out of many towns, in part, through a loss of vital infrastructure. Government and business often simply rationalise an economic downturn with a removal of services.

Unfortunately, the farm sector does not provide the primary engine of growth in many areas of rural Australia. In the Murray-Darling region of NSW, one of the most important farming belts, agriculture employed just fifteen per cent of the population at the 1996 Census. (2006 will undoubtedly show greater decline.)

In part, the declining number of people employed in farming in many regions reflects the shake-out of farm enterprises in recent decades. The consensus among analysts is that the number of farms in Australia has been falling by around two per cent per annum.

An assessment of the Realpolitik of world trade suggests Australia’s pursuit of agricultural trade liberalisation is nothing short of chasing a mirage.

Environmental degradation, drought and long-term declines in rural terms of trade are squeezing farm incomes. Trends in agricultural production are increasing dependence on large-scale capital investment, with implications for debt and farm size. Service industry restructuring is seeing the flight of businesses from small towns.

The ‘politically’ built and often quite wasteful ‘entertainment/sport’ centres in rural marginal seats parallels a decentralisation policy, which historically, has shown itself a political furphy
Posted by relda, Saturday, 7 October 2006 10:20:07 PM
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